A couple Noob questions

[Harrison19]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and thinking about starting to box. Forgive me for asking noob questions but I'm just trying to learn.

I'm 5 foot 9 inches, 140lbs, with a 72 inch reach.

Would this be a good weight to begin an amatuer career for me? If not should I try to lose or gain weight?

Wouldn't most of the guys in my weight class be smaller than me?

Does having a reach thats a considerable amount more than my height (reach: 6' height: 5'9) give me an advantage against people around my height?

Do the majority of good boxers have unproportionally long arms?

Like I said, sorry for asking ****** questions, but I'm interested in getting serious about boxing and I think I might have the build for it.

I consider myself strong for my size...I'm not sure exactly what kind of workouts boxers do but I've been lifting weights for 5 years.

Here's a vid I took about a month back of me doing some reps of 185 on the bench.

[Kayo]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and thinking about starting to box. Forgive me for asking noob questions but I'm just trying to learn.

I'm 5 foot 9 inches, 140lbs, with a 72 inch reach.

Would this be a good weight to begin an amatuer career for me? If not should I try to lose or gain weight?

Wouldn't most of the guys in my weight class be smaller than me?

Does having a reach thats a considerable amount more than my height (reach: 6' height: 5'9) give me an advantage against people around my height?

Do the majority of good boxers have unproportionally long arms?

Like I said, sorry for asking ****** questions, but I'm interested in getting serious about boxing and I think I might have the build for it.

I consider myself strong for my size...I'm not sure exactly what kind of workouts boxers do but I've been lifting weights for 5 years.

Here's a vid I took about a month back of me doing some reps of 185 on the bench.

you seem to be in relatively good shape which is a good start.
you got a good size for your weight class and your weight class would be 141 i believe unless your confident you could squeeze down to 132.
Alot of boxers dont tend to lift weights because some trainers advise not to but if your going to lift weights lift for explosive strength and not size and if you've been lifting for 5 years im sure you know the difference.

Boxers do lots of roadwork(running),stairs, skipping, sit ups, burpees, push ups, chin ups/pull ups and dips. To get themselves into shape.

Along with the fitness components Boxers do for work outs are heavy bag work, speed bag, double end bag, focus mitts,shadow boxing and sparing(the most funnest part)

[fraidycat]

Okay.

For starters, most of the answers to your questions can be found using the Search function.

Secondly, welcome to hell. Here's your hall pass.

I'll start by saying, long arms are definitely handy. I'm 5'9" with a 73" wingspan. I have arms like an orangutan. It helps me considerably b/c most guys in my weight class are taller than I am.

Now. On to weightlifting, training, and bodyshaping 101.

Bench pressing a lot of weight will not help you box. At all. Strength in boxing -- delivery of a devastating punch, the ability to clinch and break clinches, the ability to move explosively, weave, slip, etc. -- all comes from coordination, not from strength in any one muscle group. Boxing is a lot more like ballet than it is like football or rugby. Correctly-thrown punches, weaves, slips, even your footwork, all these are nonintuitive movements that will feel awkward and clumsy at first, no matter how strong you think you are. You have to drill these moves into your head until they become second nature. At that point, physical strength will become an asset.

As for your weight, don't worry about it. Start training, eat right, and let your body do what it's going to do. Some guys lose weight, some guys gain muscle. Let your boxing training shape your body. Do not make the mistake of lifting weights trying to "build a boxer's body." I did this for about six months, having come from a bodybuilding background. A boxer's physique is a byproduct of his training, and for all intents and purposes an accidental result at that. In that respect, a boxer's body is nearly the opposite of a bodybuilder's body. A boxer doesn't worry about whether or not he has 6-pack abs or defined arms. His body is developed as a weapon: he develops strong abs through years of conditioning and from tensing against punches; his bodyfat melts away through running every morning; his arms develop definition after hours and hours of bagwork. Many boxers lift weights; very few bodybuild.

If you weightlift and you enjoy it (I do) you should drop the isolation exercises -- bench, curls, tricep kickbacks, leg sled, etc. -- and concentrate on basic Olympic lifts: squat, clean, and deadlift. These will help you build the coordination, balance, and full-body explosive power that will help your boxing once you learn to box. But NO AMOUNT OF WEIGHTLIFTING ALONE will make you a good boxer. You have to work at it; boxing is a skill. Very few people come to it naturally.

I hope this helps.

[fraidycat]

I should add, that video is pretty impressive. At your size, 3 reps of 185 is outstanding.

[Harrison19]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and thinking about starting to box. Forgive me for asking noob questions but I'm just trying to learn.

I'm 5 foot 9 inches, 140lbs, with a 72 inch reach.

Would this be a good weight to begin an amatuer career for me? If not should I try to lose or gain weight?

Wouldn't most of the guys in my weight class be smaller than me?

Does having a reach thats a considerable amount more than my height (reach: 6' height: 5'9) give me an advantage against people around my height?

Do the majority of good boxers have unproportionally long arms?

Like I said, sorry for asking ****** questions, but I'm interested in getting serious about boxing and I think I might have the build for it.

I consider myself strong for my size...I'm not sure exactly what kind of workouts boxers do but I've been lifting weights for 5 years.

Here's a vid I took about a month back of me doing some reps of 185 on the bench.

you seem to be in relatively good shape which is a good start.
you got a good size for your weight class and your weight class would be 141 i believe unless your confident you could squeeze down to 132.
Alot of boxers dont tend to lift weights because some trainers advise not to but if your going to lift weights lift for explosive strength and not size and if you've been lifting for 5 years im sure you know the difference.

Boxers do lots of roadwork(running),stairs, skipping, sit ups, burpees, push ups, chin ups/pull ups and dips. To get themselves into shape.

Along with the fitness components Boxers do for work outs are heavy bag work, speed bag, double end bag, focus mitts,shadow boxing and sparing(the most funnest part)

Thanks,
I was actually about 148-150 when I made that vid but right now I'm about 142-144 depending on the day. I'm 100% positive I could lose 5-8lbs and fight between 136-140. I'm going to start doing those bodyweight and cardio exercises, and hopefully buy a heavy bag and join a gym soon.

One question, why do some trainers advise not to lift weights?
I appreciate the help/advice!

[Harrison19]

Okay.

For starters, most of the answers to your questions can be found using the Search function.

Secondly, welcome to hell. Here's your hall pass.

I'll start by saying, long arms are definitely handy. I'm 5'9" with a 73" wingspan. I have arms like an orangutan. It helps me considerably b/c most guys in my weight class are taller than I am.

Now. On to weightlifting, training, and bodyshaping 101.

Bench pressing a lot of weight will not help you box. At all. Strength in boxing -- delivery of a devastating punch, the ability to clinch and break clinches, the ability to move explosively, weave, slip, etc. -- all comes from coordination, not from strength in any one muscle group. Boxing is a lot more like ballet than it is like football or rugby. Correctly-thrown punches, weaves, slips, even your footwork, all these are nonintuitive movements that will feel awkward and clumsy at first, no matter how strong you think you are. You have to drill these moves into your head until they become second nature. At that point, physical strength will become an asset.

As for your weight, don't worry about it. Start training, eat right, and let your body do what it's going to do. Some guys lose weight, some guys gain muscle. Let your boxing training shape your body. Do not make the mistake of lifting weights trying to "build a boxer's body." I did this for about six months, having come from a bodybuilding background. A boxer's physique is a byproduct of his training, and for all intents and purposes an accidental result at that. In that respect, a boxer's body is nearly the opposite of a bodybuilder's body. A boxer doesn't worry about whether or not he has 6-pack abs or defined arms. His body is developed as a weapon: he develops strong abs through years of conditioning and from tensing against punches; his bodyfat melts away through running every morning; his arms develop definition after hours and hours of bagwork. Many boxers lift weights; very few bodybuild.

If you weightlift and you enjoy it (I do) you should drop the isolation exercises -- bench, curls, tricep kickbacks, leg sled, etc. -- and concentrate on basic Olympic lifts: squat, clean, and deadlift. These will help you build the coordination, balance, and full-body explosive power that will help your boxing once you learn to box. But NO AMOUNT OF WEIGHTLIFTING ALONE will make you a good boxer. You have to work at it; boxing is a skill. Very few people come to it naturally.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, I know I should have used the search feature, but your post taught me more in five minutes than I could have found in hours of searching.

Sorry for being annoying but I do appreciate you explainin all that to me...thats exactly the answer I was looking for.

[fraidycat]

One question, why do some trainers advise not to lift weights?
I appreciate the help/advice!

The cynical answer is that, quite frankly, boxers as a group are probably the most proudly uneducated athletes when it comes to physiology, exercise science, nutrition, supplementation, etc. There are guys at my gym who still argue water vs. Gatorade. There was a guy on this board about a year ago who responded to a question about side stitch while running, by saying that you need to "dig your fingers into the muscle and pop the bubbles." I am not making this up.

A lot of boxing trainers and coaches are stuck in 1950. They seem to think that oatmeal, red meat, jumping rope , & sparring is enough.

The uncynical answer is that most boxing trainers don't understand the difference between strength training and bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is bad for boxing. Strength training is essential.

[Kayo]

Thanks,
I was actually about 148-150 when I made that vid but right now I'm about 142-144 depending on the day. I'm 100% positive I could lose 5-8lbs and fight between 136-140. I'm going to start doing those bodyweight and cardio exercises, and hopefully buy a heavy bag and join a gym soon.

One question, why do some trainers advise not to lift weights?
I appreciate the help/advice!

Some are old school and believe it builds big bulky muscles which arent good for boxing cause in boxing you need to be quick, strong loose and agile.
Lifting weights wont make you any better but i do believe it can help your performance if done properly.

Do what fraidycat said and just do olympic lifts drop isolation exercises and stick to squat, bench, military press and rows. Also a leg exercise that i feel really helped me is walking lunges. You can do them in a field you may look like a dink but it really think its helped with my explosiveness of moving in and out

[phallus]

The cynical answer is that, quite frankly, boxers as a group are probably the most proudly uneducated athletes when it comes to physiology, exercise science, nutrition, supplementation, etc. There are guys at my gym who still argue water vs. Gatorade. There was a guy on this board about a year ago who responded to a question about side stitch while running, by saying that you need to "dig your fingers into the muscle and pop the bubbles." I am not making this up.

A lot of boxing trainers and coaches are stuck in 1950. They seem to think that oatmeal, red meat, jumping rope , & sparring is enough.

The uncynical answer is that most boxing trainers don't understand the difference between strength training and bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is bad for boxing. Strength training is essential.

boxing is anerobic, any kind of strength training will help u. just remember, it's not about having big, pretty muscles, it's about building lean mass with explosive power

[Harrison19]

The cynical answer is that, quite frankly, boxers as a group are probably the most proudly uneducated athletes when it comes to physiology, exercise science, nutrition, supplementation, etc. There are guys at my gym who still argue water vs. Gatorade. There was a guy on this board about a year ago who responded to a question about side stitch while running, by saying that you need to "dig your fingers into the muscle and pop the bubbles." I am not making this up.

A lot of boxing trainers and coaches are stuck in 1950. They seem to think that oatmeal, red meat, jumping rope , & sparring is enough.

The uncynical answer is that most boxing trainers don't understand the difference between strength training and bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is bad for boxing. Strength training is essential.

Once again, thanks for the explanation!